meed-logo

line1 line2 line3
SIGN IN / REGISTER

Adnoc awards $1.34bn Estidama project contracts

3 July 2023

 

Register for MEED's guest programme 

Adnoc Gas, the natural gas processing business of Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (Adnoc Group), has awarded contracts for two key packages of its project to upgrade its sales gas pipeline network across the UAE.

The total value of the two engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contracts for the project, also known as Estidama, is estimated to be $1.34bn, Adnoc Group said in a statement on 3 July.

UK-headquartered Petrofac has been awarded the EPC contract for package 2 of the Estidama project. Package 2 is understood to be worth $720m, sources told MEED.

A consortium of Abu Dhabi’s National Petroleum Construction Company (NPCC) and Lebanon-headquartered CAT Group has won Estidama package 3, which is valued at approximately $630m, according to sources.

The new pipeline will extend Adnoc Gas’ existing 3,200-kilometre pipeline network to over 3,500km, enabling the transportation of higher volumes of natural gas to customers in the Northern Emirates of the UAE.

“This strategic pipeline extension will drive further growth for Adnoc Gas as it continues to supply sustainable gas supplies in the UAE in support of the company’s strategy to increase its market share and enhance its customer base,” Adnoc said in its statement.

Over 70 per cent of the contracts’ value is expected to flow back into the UAE economy under Adnoc Group’s In-Country Value (ICV) localisation scheme, Adnoc added.

Key Estidama packages

Adnoc Gas Processing, now part of Adnoc Gas, initially intended to issue separate EPC tenders for packages 2 and 5. However, it tendered these as a combined job in June last year. Contractors submitted technical bids for these packages in August 2022.

Eventually, Adnoc Gas divided the scope of work on combined packages 2 and 5, MEED reported in February this year.

Following the revision of the scope of work, Estidama package 2 broadly involves building a new facility at the KP-30 location of the Habshan gas compressor plant (HGCP) and installing three variable frequency drive motor-driven compressors.

Adnoc Gas received technical proposals for Estidama package 2 on 24 February. Contractors submitted commercial bids by 27 March.

Along with Petrofac, the following contractors, among others, are understood to have submitted commercial bids for Estidama package 2:

Package 5 is expected to be tendered separately to contractors as part of a planned second phase of the sales gas pipeline upgrade project.

ALSO READ: Gas takes centre stage in Adnoc downstream expansion

Adnoc Gas issued the main tender for Estidama package 3 in late June last year.

Contractors submitted technical bids for the package in August 2022, while commercial bids were submitted by 21 November.

MEED previously reported that Italy-headquartered Arkad was the lowest bidder for package 3, with a quotation of about $590m. A source close to the project said that following months of “intense negotiations, due diligence processes and evaluation of project delivery capabilities”, Adnoc Gas picked the consortium of NPCC and CAT for the package.

The scope of work on package 3 covers the installation of new gas pipelines from the Habshan complex to the HGCP, and from the HGCP to the Sweihan customer receipt, along with associated facilities.

Sales gas pipeline project packages

Erstwhile Adnoc Gas Processing, now consolidated into Adnoc Gas, initially divided the EPC work on its estimated $2bn sales gas pipeline network enhancement project into seven main packages.

China Petroleum Pipeline Engineering performed the Estidama project’s front-end engineering and design works as part of a contract worth about $6m that Adnoc Gas Processing awarded the Chinese state-owned firm in October 2020.

MEED reported in December 2021 that Abu Dhabi-based contractor Integrated Specialised General Contracting Company (Iscco) had won package 1, which is understood to have a contract value of $18m.

Iscco subcontracted the detailed engineering works on package 1 to the Abu Dhabi branch of Sweden-headquartered consultancy Rejlers.

Adnoc Gas issued the main tender for package 6 and packages 3 and 2+5 in late June last year.

Contractors also submitted technical bids for package 6 in August 2022 and commercial bids by 21 November.

Work on package 6 entails the installation of a 52-inch, 74km pipeline from Sweihan to Al-Shuwaib in Abu Dhabi and building two block valve stations.

Adnoc Gas combined the scope of work on packages 4 and 7, and issued the main tender in November last year.

Contractors submitted technical bids for combined package 4+7 by 27 March. The project operator is yet to call for commercial bids for this package.

The main scope of work on the Estidama combined package 4+7 involves laying a new pipeline from the Al-Shuwaib pig launcher and pig receiver station to the Sajaa gas facility in Sharjah.

The scope also covers building a new gas pipeline between BVS-2/KP28.7 in Abu Dhabi to Dubai’s Margham gas facility to meet increased gas demand from Adnoc Gas Processing’s customer Dubai Supply Authority (Dusup).

“Up to a dozen contractors are likely to have submitted technical bids for [combined package] 4+7,” one source said.

https://image.digitalinsightresearch.in/uploads/NewsArticle/10980546/main.jpg
Indrajit Sen

Register for MEED's guest program now to access this article.

Click here to register
Exclusive from Meed
Related Articles
  • Riyadh qualifies five groups for One-Stop Stations PPP

    2 February 2026

    Saudi Arabia’s Roads General Authority (RGA), in collaboration with the National Centre for Privatisation & Public-Private Partnership (NCP), has qualified five groups for a contract to develop the kingdom’s One-Stop Station project on a public-private partnership (PPP) basis.

    The groups include:

    • Al-Ayuni Investment & Contracting Company / Al-Jeri
    • IC Ictas / Algihaz Holding / Al-Drees
    • TechTrade Global / Al-Habbas / Fuelax / Markabat / Naqleen Company
    • Petromin / Red Sea Housing
    • Asyad / Sasco

    The project includes the development of facilities at several locations across the RGA’s 73,600-kilometre intercity road network.

    The facilities include refuelling stations, commercial outlets, parking lots, driver rest areas, vehicle maintenance centres and other hospitality amenities.

    The project will be implemented under a 30-year design, build, finance, operate and maintain (DBFOM) contract, and will be tendered in three waves comprising six packages.

    The first wave will include the initial package, the second wave will encompass the second and third packages, and the third wave will cover the remaining three packages.

    In August last year, 49 Saudi and international firms expressed interest in the contract to develop the kingdom’s One-Stop Station project, as MEED reported.

    In January, Saudi Arabia launched a National Privatisation Strategy, which aims to mobilise $64bn in private sector capital by 2030.

    The strategy was approved by Saudi Arabia’s Minister of Finance and chairman of the National Centre for Privatisation (NCP), Mohammed Bin Abdullah Al-Jadaan.

    The strategy builds on the privatisation programme, which was first introduced in 2018. It will focus on unlocking state-owned assets for private investment and privatising selected government services.

    The value of PPP contracts in Saudi Arabia has risen sharply over the past few years as the government seeks to develop projects through the private sector and diversify funding sources

    PPPs have been used in Saudi Arabia and the wider GCC region for over two decades, but have primarily been limited to power generation and water desalination projects, where developers benefit from guaranteed take-or-pay power purchase agreements that eliminate demand risk.

    As capital expenditure continues to increase, the NCP is expected to add dozens more PPPs to its future pipeline to reduce the state’s financial burden and stimulate private sector involvement in the local projects market.

    https://image.digitalinsightresearch.in/uploads/NewsArticle/15551647/main.jpg
    Yasir Iqbal
  • Jordan allows phosphate rail line bidders more time

    30 January 2026

     

    Abu Dhabi’s National Infrastructure Construction Company (NICC), a subsidiary of Etihad Rail, has allowed contractors until 15 February to submit their proposals for a contract to build the second section of the phosphate railway line that will run from Ghor Al-Safi to Aqaba in Jordan.

    The tender was issued on 27 December, with an initial bid submission deadline of the end of January.

    The scope of work for the railway includes civil engineering, tunnel construction, and mechanical, electrical and plumbing (MEP) works.

    Tendering is also ongoing for the first section of the line. NICC is preparing to award the contract for the first section of the railway line, stretching from Al-Shidiya to Aqaba.

    MEED understands that the evaluation is in its final stages and that the contract will be awarded soon.

    In April last year, a French-Swiss joint venture of Egis and Arx was awarded the design consultancy contract for the project.

    Etihad Rail announced in September 2024 that it had signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) worth $2.3bn with Jordan’s Transport Ministry and local companies to develop the phosphate railway line.

    In an official statement, Etihad Rail said it had signed an agreement with Jordan to build, operate and maintain the project.

    The statement added that additional MoUs were signed with Jordan Phosphate Mines Company and Arab Potash Company to transport 16 million tonnes a year of phosphate and potash from mining sites to the Port of Aqaba via the Jordanian railway network.

    The MoUs also cover the manufacture and supply of rolling stock; the construction of terminals in Aqaba, Ghor Al-Safi and Shidiya; and the maintenance, repair and operation of the railway line. 

    Project history

    In 2015, Jordan’s Transport Ministry tendered a contract to construct the Shidiya rail link, intended to transport 6 million tonnes a year of phosphate from mines in Shidiya to Wadi Al-Yutum, near Aqaba.

    In November of that year, a joint venture of China Communications Construction Company and the local contractor Masar United was confirmed as the lowest bidder. It was awaiting the formal award to build the 21-kilometre spur line.

    The project was subsequently put on hold due to funding issues.

    https://image.digitalinsightresearch.in/uploads/NewsArticle/15541534/main.jpg
    Yasir Iqbal
  • Acwa Power to develop $200m solar plant in Philippines

    30 January 2026

    Saudi Arabia’s Acwa Power is investing $200m to build a large-scale solar photovoltaic (PV) plant in the Philippines.

    The renewables developer finalised the agreement with the Philippine government-owned Bases Conversion & Development Authority (BCDA) on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum in Davos last week.

    Under the reservation agreement, a 500-hectare site has been selected within the New Clark City Special Economic Zone in Tarlac province, north of Manila.

    The project must undergo a pre-feasibility study, technical assessments and regulatory approvals before any final investment decision is made.

    The collaboration will also explore “potential battery energy storage system (Bess) integration,” Acwa Power said in a statement. 

    No details were provided on the project’s potential power generation capacity.

    The reservation agreement follows a memorandum of understanding (MoU) signed between Acwa Power and BCDA in Riyadh last November.

    Since then, the partners have evaluated multiple locations in New Clark City and shortlisted the 500-hectare site for further technical and commercial evaluation.

    Acwa Power said it is targeting a threefold increase in its global assets under management to $250bn by 2030.

    The company currently has a global renewables portfolio of 52GW, accounting for 56% of its total power capacity, and plans to deploy 5.6GWh of battery energy storage capacity.

    As part of its foreign investment plans, the company also recently signed major agreements for large-scale renewable energy projects in Uzbekistan.

    This comprised $1.8bn in financing for the Samarkand solar and battery energy storage project, Uzbekistan’s biggest solar development.

    The project is being developed in partnership with Japan’s Sumitomo Corporation, Chubu Electric Power and Shikoku Electric Power.

    https://image.digitalinsightresearch.in/uploads/NewsArticle/15541146/main.jpg
    Mark Dowdall
  • Algeria plans Constantine tramway extension

    30 January 2026

     

    Algeria is planning another extension of its Constantine tramway network, which currently runs from Ben Abdelmalek Stadium in the city centre to the Ali Mendjeli area.

    The project client, Algiers Metro Company (EMA), received bids on 14 December last year from consultants for a tender to undertake feasibility and detailed preliminary design studies for the project.

    The client had tendered the contract in October.

    The current tramway network spans approximately 19.3 kilometres (km).

    The tramway is owned by EMA and operated by Societe d’Exploitation des Tramways (Setram), a joint venture of EMA and French firm RATP Group.

    The first route of the tramway, with a length of 9km, was commissioned in July 2013, according to GlobalData’s sister company, Railway Technology.

    The expansion phase began in July 2015 and was completed in June 2019, increasing total ridership to over 30,000 passengers a day.

    The initial 9km-long section of the Constantine tramway system runs from the Zouaghi terminal to the Ben-Abdelmalek Stadium station through the old town and the university area.

    The route includes 11 stations, three of which are multimodal, two viaducts measuring 465m and 114m long, and an underpass.

    A 65,000-square-metre ground-level depot serves the fleet for maintenance and train parking.

    The Ben-Abdelmalek Stadium was renovated as part of the project to accommodate the line's passage.

    Contractors involved 

    EMA awarded a contract for the tramway line extension to France’s Alstom and the local firm Cosider Travaux Publics consortium in July 2015.

    Spanish firm Idom was awarded the detailed design and construction works management, while US-based engineering firm Aecom was responsible for civil engineering and urban planning.

    Cital, a joint venture of EMA, Spain’s Ferrovial and Alstom, delivered 24 trainsets to open the first phase of the extension in 2019.

    The company also maintains 51 trainsets and the infrastructure of the Constantine tramway.

    https://image.digitalinsightresearch.in/uploads/NewsArticle/15540773/main.jpg
    Yasir Iqbal
  • Dewa desalination plans offer timely boost

    30 January 2026

    Commentary
    Mark Dowdall
    Power & water editor

    Dubai Electricity & Water Authority (Dewa) is taking early steps towards procuring its second independent water producer (IWP) project, a signal that the utility may be further expanding its role from service provider to long-term utility asset developer.

    Consultancy bids were received this week for a pre-feasibility study that will assess capacity and location requirements for a planned seawater reverse osmosis (SWRO) desalination plant.

    The project, being pursued with Etihad Water & Electricity (EtihadWE), would build on the 180-million-imperial-gallons-a-day Hassyan IWP, awarded to Saudi Arabia’s Acwa Power in 2024.

    It would also align with Dewa’s wider objective to lift Dubai’s desalination capacity to 750 million imperial gallons a day by 2030, from around 495 million today. Achieving that target may require a further pipeline of privately developed water assets between now and then.

    A useful point of comparison lies in Saudi Arabia’s power sector. Saudi Electricity Company has increasingly relied on independent power producers over the past decade to accelerate capacity expansion, ease pressure on public capital spending and deepen the project finance ecosystem.

    For regional developers, competition in Saudi Arabia’s water market continues to intensify. In December, Saudi Water Partnership Company (SWPC) prequalified 50 developers to bid for five upcoming IWPs and 63 developers for independent sewage treatment plant (ISTP) projects.

    Unlike Saudi Arabia, the UAE entered 2026 with limited visible momentum in desalination. EtihadWE’s $400m Fujairah SWRO IWP is the only large desalination plant expected to be tendered this year.

    In a crowded market, increased activity by Dubai’s utility would provide a welcome boost.

    https://image.digitalinsightresearch.in/uploads/NewsArticle/15540724/main.jpg
    Mark Dowdall